The Bible says that every eye is going to see (the second coming). How is the whole world going to see (Jesus Christ) all at one time? I don’t know, unless all of a sudden everybody’s taking pictures and it’s on the media worldwide. I don’t know. Social media could have a big part in that…

Everybody’s got their phone up and everybody’s taking recordings and posting it on YouTube and whatever and sending it to you, and it gets shown around the world.”

Maybe this is not a surprising conclusion by the son of Billy Graham, the now-retired world-traveling evangelist who made a global mark using every medium available to spread the Good News.

In the ongoing shock and awe campaign that is church evangelism, the latest salvo has been launched by a church in Folsom, CA…..

By DEAN SCHABNER, ABC NEWS

April 24, 2011

The signs around Folsom, Calif., said “Church Sucks,” but the man who put them up said the message behind them is more complex than it seems.

“It’s just inflammatory enough to get attention and yet we have something to say,” Stu Streeter, the man who put them up, told ABC affiliate KXTV in Sacramento.

Streeter is the pastor of Disciples Church, a small storefront in a strip mall, and he said the signs and a newspaper ad campaign that carried the same message were created for people who don’t go to church.

“This campaign for us is just a simple way to call out the elephant in the room and say, ‘Hey, maybe you don’t go to church because you’ll think you’ll be an outsider or you think power will be abused,” Streeter said. “Well, it doesn’t have to be that way.”

In all he put up 200 of the signs around the city, and some he put on trailers that he drove around to get the message out.

The signs advertised the church’s website, which makes the pastor’s perhaps irreverent reverence a bit more clear.

“Church Sucks, sometimes. But we’re not content with that,” the website says. “Jesus didn’t suck, and neither should His church. And you’re invited to help!”

Maybe it’s just me, but this whole “let’s see how superficially shocking and controversial we can be in order to get people to come to church” thing is getting a bit old. Not to mention a bit unnecessary.

I always found the gospel to be pretty shocking by itself. You’ve got: virgin birth, miracles, casting out demons, “eat of my body and drink of my blood”, “sell everything you have and give it to the poor”, crucifixion, resurrection, and a God that lets His people kill Him in order to save them.

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This story isn’t amazing because of what this church is giving away for Easter. There are other churches giving away much more extravagent gifts, including a house.

What is amazing (and by amazing I mean what makes we want to vomit, although I guess I sort of appreciate his honesty) is this church’s “evangelism philosophy.”

Presenting the evangelism philosophy of Crossing Church in Elk River, MN: Having trouble getting people to come to church? No problem. Bribe them!

Seriously. This isn’t me reading into what they’re doing. The pastor says as much himself…….

KARE 11, ELK RIVER, Minn. — The Crossing Church in Elk River has many seats to fill Easter weekend and they have a very unique way of doing it. They are bribing people with 3D televisions and Nintendo 3DS portable video game consoles.

“I have no problem bribing people with crap in order to meet Christ,” Pastor Eric Dykstra said.

The bribes maybe working. While other churches are struggling with attendance Crossing has grown from just 200 people to more 3,000 in just six years.

There is hope their $8,000 giveaway this weekend will bring in more. But Dykstra says the prizes are more than just gimmicks. They are tools to get people in the door.

“It’s awkward to say ‘hey come to my church.’ It just feels weird and you don’t want to twist somebody’s arm so to kind of alleviate some of that weirdness what we’ve done is said hey if you bring your friend to church they might potentially win a 3D television, a 3DS or a 3D movie ticket package,” Dykstra said.

Dykstra expects between 5,000 to 6,000 people to attend their Easter worship service.